


The Whole Night Through

by silentghost



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Growing Up, Identity Reveal, Introspection, Late Night Conversations, Not Beta Read, Picnics, Stargazing, a lotta what ifs, post identity reveal, shrugs, the kids vs comphet, two bros sitting on a rooftop zero feet apart bc it's cold, which part of canon you ask?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28986444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentghost/pseuds/silentghost
Summary: Ladybug and Chat have a rooftop picnic and talk about nothing and everything.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Kudos: 17





	The Whole Night Through

Ladybug swoops down onto a rooftop that’s lit by a large lantern. It's a chilly night from the excessive rain earlier that day; the wind bites at her ears where they're exposed from her pigtails. A lone figure sits on a blanket, taking snacks out from a plastic bag and arranging them on the floor. They look up at her arrival and grin with their green eyes flashing in the dark.

"Wonderful night, isn't it, my lady?" Chat Noir calls out.

“Are we living in the same Paris?” she answers back. She exaggeratedly rubs her arms with a shiver. “It’s cold as fuck right now.”

He gasps, scandalized, as she takes a seat beside him. “Did I hear that right? Ladybug, the city's darling,  _ swearing _ ? Oh, what will I do? Think about the children!"

"Not my fault these suits can absorb physical damage but don't do shit for the weather. And there are no kids here, kitten, it's 2 am on a Saturday." Ladybug picks up a ham sandwich and takes a huge bite. She's disgruntled that Chat called her out so late, but it's not so different from her usual weekends. Just before transforming she was finishing a competition submission and totally forgot about dinner.

"Well,  _ fur _ -tonately the weather earlier made the sky clear for the next few days, or so my phone tells me. Did you know there's going to be a meteor shower tonight?" He turns to her, excited now. "This is the time of year when they occur. They're called the Perseids and they should be visible every few minutes."

She looks at him, as hard and serious as any teen girl who grew up with too many responsibilities does. "Adrien. Why are we here?"

He deflates a bit and scratches his cat ears. "Okay, I wanted some time alone, just the two of us. I feel like we haven't had much time for us since, y'know, everything that's been going on. The meteor shower is real, though, and I definitely want to try watching them tonight."

Ladybug picks up another sandwich. This time it's tuna. "And you couldn't tell me this as our civilian selves why?"

"Do you think any of our parents would let us spend the night together, unsupervised and alone?" He snorts.

"...That's true."

Chat tugs a heavy blanket over their laps and another one over Ladybug's shoulders. They sit close to each other, two halves of a whole. Ladybug digs through the snacks and thoroughly demolishes the chips and strawberry milk Chat brought while he peels a banana. Adrien wanted some time to catch up, but did he mean as heroes or as regular teens? Things can be so confusing once you lay your identity bare to someone you would sacrifice your life for.

"Aaand I can't see anything from here," he confesses after a few minutes of silence. "Stupid light pollution."

A laugh bubbles out of Ladybug's mouth. He pouts until she pokes the bell on his chest. "Poor kitten," she teases.

"Hey now, the Purr-seids are a globally known phenomenon! The internet promised me meow-teors and I haven't seen any since I got here!"

Ladybug smiles at the puns. She was feeling a little bad about bursting his enthusiasm when she arrived and started worrying.

"I never took you for a space geek, Chat; it's cool."

"Why thank you, LB. Space is just physics on a larger scale, no? Everything about it is so interesting: how light travels, vacuums, the vibrations in the air." He leans into Ladybug's personal space. "In fact, one of my favorite forces is the force of attraction, and I'm feeling a lot of it right now, m'lady."

She decides to play along with a smirk. "If I didn't know any better I would think you're flirting with me."

"Who's to say I'm not?" he asks with a greasy smile.

That gets her cackling, and she whacks his arm. They collapse on one another in a fit of giggles. "Oh my God, compulsive heterosexuality is such a burden." She wipes away stray tears from the corner of her eye. "I can't believe you would  _ talk _ like that before! Who raised you?"

"A mute chauffeur and shoujo manga," he shoots back with no hesitation. “And Nathalie, I guess.” Chat sits back on his arms and eyes the skyline. “I’m actually glad we know each other now; I’m glad that, out of anyone, it was you.”

“Me too,” Ladybug replies. “Fate has a crazy way of things.”

“Do you ever imagine,” he’s looking away, towards the glittering lights of the Champ de Mars, “how different things would be if we actually dated?”

Marinette won’t deny, she’s thought of it before. After getting over her stuttering panic to learn that  _ Chat  _ was  _ Adrien _ , she considered the implications of what would happen. Maybe they would date in and out of the suit. Maybe they would go out in matching outfits. Maybe they would have double dates with Nino and Alya. Maybe they would spend more days playing video games together. Maybe, if the universe allowed it, they would be happy. But then she remembers Chat Blanc, and she shakes her head, resolute. 

“I’d rather not.”

“C’mon, humor this alley cat. Which one of us would make long playlists with idyllic songs?  _ Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn’t have to wait so long. And wouldn’t it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong?”  _ Chat starts singing. She shoves him.

“The Beach Boys? Really? You’ve been spending too much time with Luka.”

He grins with his eyes scrunched closed and the ears on top of his head pointing straight up, the perfect image of a smug cat. “Purr-haps.”

She tilts her head knowingly. "We all know you're a sucker for cheesy romantic clichés, anyway. You would make a playlist for every anniversary."

“Can’t deny that.” 

The two lay on their backs to watch the night sky above. In any other place there would be a sea of stars splashed across the sky, but with their proximity to the city, they only see a void that's dark like overturned ink. Quiet settles on them like the warmth of the blankets, and it’s a nice change from having to deal with Hawkmoth or the drama going on in school. It’s a rare moment where they just exist.

“Sometimes,” she whispers, sad and lonely now that the previous laughter has worn off, “I imagine how my life would be if we weren't chosen for this. Some days everything is too much and I wish I could give it all up. We’re only sixteen! I can’t handle the weight of saving Paris every week  _ and  _ being the guardian on top of that. I keep wondering, 'is this it for me? Am I going to be doing this for the rest of my life? And if I have to, am I okay with that?'"

Adrien lets Marinette finish, gently pushing her to sit up so they can face each other properly. She's breathing heavily as if holding in those emotions took effort.

"It sucks to feel so helpless like that. But, Mari," he holds her shoulders in a tight grip, "you aren't alone in this. We revealed our identities for a reason. Yes, we're young, but that gives us a chance to learn from others' mistakes and our own. So when the time comes to pass on the miraculous, we won’t make any rash decisions like Fu. Ladybug and Chat Noir are a team, but so are Marinette and Adrien. Yeah?”

She blinks furiously. 

"Yeah. Okay.”

Adrien stands up and throws his arm out in a dramatic flourish. “For now-- care to dance with me? No worries for now. Just you, me, and this beautiful sky we can barely see because Paris never sleeps.”

“Only you would think to dance at a time like this.” Marinette nevertheless folds her blanket and is hauled up by his outstretched hand.

“We’ve done it before and you never questioned it." He rolls his eyes. "Indulge me, one more time."

He gazes at her patiently. She nods. From the glow of the lantern and the streetlamps below, she can't get a good look of Adrien except for his silhouette and his green eyes under the mask.

"Tikki's gonna be pissed that I stayed out so late," she says with a conspiratorial smile.

"She will," he agrees. "But it's only because she loves you."

"She does. I know she does. I love you, too. You know?"

It's something Chat's been waiting to hear for years, even though the words come from a place of camaraderie rather than hidden romantic feelings. Marinette cherishes what they have as a duo and as friends; he understands that.  _ If it had been someone else,  _ she thinks,  _ God only knows what I'd do. _

He boops her nose, saying, "'Course I do, bug; you know I’ll always love you back. Let's dance! Do you know how to waltz?"

She shakes her head, so they sway together under the pale moonlight to the sounds of cars and a dog barking in the distance.

“Thanks for the picnic,” she says against his shoulder. He holds her tighter, a hug full of words unspoken. “I can bring something next time, shumai is really easy to make-- oh, Chat--Adrien! Look!”

They pull apart to gaze at the sky. Tiny streaks of light cross the sky in the Eastern direction. The Perseids.

"Wow," Adrien marvels. "It's better than I imagined."

And Marinette, looking up at her friend, her first love, her partner, thinks so too.

**Author's Note:**

> omfg is this a canon compliant fic?? it is!!
> 
> let's be friends on [twitter: nbkagami](https://twitter.com/nbkagami)


End file.
